magazine archive
magazine archive
Week Ahead
Persimmon expected to post a one-third drop in sales for 2023
Thursday 07 Mar 2024Leading housebuilder Persimmon (PSN) issued an upbeat full-year trading statement in January saying it had ‘performed well in challenging market conditions, delivering completions ahead of expectations alongside enhanced quality metrics of our already five-star homes’. It described sales as being ‘...
Focus on UK, US employment and European interest rates
Thursday 07 Mar 2024By the time Shares goes to press we will already have had the February UK retail sales surveyfrom the BRC (British Retail Consortium) and potentially the last spring Budget from chancellor Jeremy Hunt. January retail sales got off to a good start thanks to the usual New Year promotions, but that...
Hopes rise for a ‘soft landing’ for the UK as well as the US economy
Thursday 29 Feb 2024In last week’s diary we overlooked the latest UK PMI (purchasing managers’ index) readings, which were due on 22 February, on the basis they seldom elicit much of a market response. Given services make up the biggest component of the UK economy – as they do in other developed countries, especially...
Can Greggs serve up another tasty sales performance?
Thursday 29 Feb 2024Investors will ravenously digest comments on the current trading environment when UK food-to-go specialist Greggs (GRG) delivers its full-year results on 5 March. While the value-for-money sausage roll, coffee and Yum Yums retailer has enjoyed positive momentum supported by its value-for-money...
Will Target hit the mark with its latest update?
Thursday 29 Feb 2024US budget retail chain Target (TGT:NASDAQ) posts its fourth quarter earnings on Tues 5 March and investors will be hoping they help sustain the recent momentum in the share price. The company has recently created a new ‘value’ brand with prices for everyday basics that start at under $1 per item...
Higher-than-expected US inflation fails to dent investor sentiment
Thursday 22 Feb 2024It says a great deal about the market’s resilience that after stronger-than-expected US CPI (consumer price index) and weaker-than-expected UK GDP (gross domestic product) prints shares have continued their advance. Most of the unexpected increase in US inflation came from ‘shelter’ costs, which...
Will Aston Martin continue to rack up big losses?
Thursday 22 Feb 2024Luxury car maker Aston Martin Lagonda (AML) is set to report its 2023 results on 28 February under something of a cloud, with its shares close to 52-week lows and trading at just a fraction of their value at the time of the IPO in October 2018. Meanwhile, the optimistic comparisons the company made...
Berkshire Hathaway results sure to capture the market’s imagination
Thursday 22 Feb 2024Few stocks command as much attention as Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B:NYSE) , but then few investors are as well known as Warren Buffett and his late business partner Charlie Munger. The pair built a business with a market cap today of $880 billion and an investment portfolio which is as good a...
Focus on GDP and Fed meeting minutes after big inflation numbers
Thursday 15 Feb 2024After an uneventful few days over the tail end of last week and the beginning of this week, the economic calendar moves into high gear with the all-important US and UK January consumer price indices due for release just before Shares goes to print. Markets often go up during quiet periods, and the...
Will Nvidia deliver more knockout earnings?
Thursday 15 Feb 2024Can AI (artificial intelligence) chip leader Nvidia (NVDA:NASDAQ) keep putting forecasts to the sword? The Santa Clara-based design business has blown past expectations in each of the past four quarters and skipping a soggy third quarter for earnings in 2022, it’s a forecast-thumping record that...